Its hard to put a finger on the backfield dynamic of the Kansas City Chiefs this season, but in their Week 14 game against the Denver Broncos, it was Jerick McKinnon who was able to finish as the top fantasy football Chiefs running back. Following the strong performance, let’s take a look at the Jerick McKinnon fantasy football value going forward and gauge his place among Week 15 waiver wire targets.
Jerick McKinnon Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 15
We’ve all seen the play by now. Every week, it seems Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes does something unthinkable, and in Week 14, McKinnon was the beneficiary. This time, Mahomes was under duress by the Broncos front and rolling out to his right. He tucked the ball and looked like he was going to cut his losses and run out of bounds. But at the last moment, he hit McKinnon with a no-look underhand shovel pass, and the running back did the rest for a 56-yard touchdown.
McKinnon finished the game with just six carries for 22 yards, but his seven receptions for 112 yards and two touchdowns has fantasy players rushing to the waiver wire to check his availability. As a true pass-catching back in Andy Reid’s offense, McKinnon has just 222 rushing yards and no touchdowns, but 38 receptions for 359 yards and four touchdowns.
Rookie Isiah Pacheco has taken over for Clyde-Edwards Helaire as the running back getting the most carries in the Kansas City offense. And with Edwards-Helaire now on IR, it’s a true two-back system with Pacheco and McKinnon. Last week, McKinnon played 57% of the offensive snaps, with Pacheco playing 43%.
The worry with McKinnon is that his value comes through receiving, and the Chiefs definitely like to spread it around in the passing game. Like many of the Chiefs pass-catchers not named Travis Kelce, expect McKinnon’s production to stay inconsistent for the remainder of the season. But as long as he’s playing most of the snaps in the backfield, there’s a good reason for any fantasy manager to roster him for the remainder of season.
This week, the Chiefs have a favorable matchup against the Houston Texans, who rank last in the NFL in fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs.
Look for both Isiah Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon to put up solid performances against the Texans in Week 15, but after last week, McKinnon seems to be the slightly better flex option.
